Seam



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R. N. SALEEBY SEAM Filed June 21, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 23. 1924.

R. N. SALEEBY SEAM Filed June 21, 192?.

Patented Sept. 23, 1924.

ROGER NL SALEEBY, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

SEAM.

Application led .Tune 21, 1922. Serial-No. 569,917.

To @ZZ whom t may concern.'

Le it known that l, `Boone N. citizen of Syria andlresident of Brooklyn, in, the county of KingsA and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Scams, of which the followingis a specication. i

My present rinvention relates to stitches or seamsrand to` methods and machines for making the same.

It is an object of the invention to provide a durable seam-easily produced by mechanism. The` invention is broadly applicable tothe formation of abinding edge or to the joining of two fabric endsor of two distinct pieces` of fabric. A preferred application is to the attachment of lace edgings to fabrics, as in lingerie, dresses, handkerchiefs and the like. i i

As conducive to a clear understanding of the objectsandpurposes of the invention, it may be notedY that inthe ordinary machinemethodfof attaching lace to fabric, it has been customary tor fold. over fabric and to form two vstraight parallel lines of machine Stitches through the fabric, the lapped-over edge and the previously su er osed iece of lace and thereu on to finish the seam by cutting off the material of the fold beyond the stitches` This method involves four steps, the folding operation, two separate stitching operations and the finishing operation. As the product of this method is, in general, unacceptable to the more discriminating trade, the lace has been attached by a hand whipped stitch in the case of the higher priced commodity, involving substantial cost for labor. Y

By my invention, the lace is attached to the fabric by a single, rapidly executed operation, effecting a durable stitch of finished, appearance devoid of rough edges,

andV possessing many of lthe elements of beauty characteristic of hand-whipped, as.

distinguished from machine stitches.

The method of forming the stitch or` seam` referred to can be reliably executed at high speed with relatively unskilled labor by the use of a sewingmachine. The ordinary sewing machine is not suitable for my purpose but a machine of a certain standard type now in extended use may be readily; adapted yby an ordinary mechanic in a few SALEEBY, a

an edge of minutes to convert it into the novel machine tension to the threadto automatically fold` the adjacent portion of the fabric inward over the lace, preparatory to each stitch. l

The preferred seam comprises two threads interlinked in a row of stitches adjacent the free edge of fabric folded over the lace edge. said threads being further interlinked between successive stitches at the fold of the fabric and preferably taut against said fold. The preferred method of producing the seam, comprises superposing.V the lace and fabric, with the edge of the latter projecting, interlinking the `threads beyond the project` ing edge of fabric andplacing one of the threads under 'sufficient tension, preparatory to each stitch through fabric and lace, to automatically fold the adjacent portion ofthe projecting fabr-icedge over the lace. For executing the methodby a sewing ma chine, a zigzag stitching operation is performed. The needle is alternately. passed through the lace and fabric and beyond the projectingV edge of fabric, the needle and looper threads thus interlinking at the latter region without stitching, through the material. The thread being placed under sufficient tension, the adjacent portion of the projecting edge of fabric will automatically be folded over the lace and tautly drawn thereagainst by thel thread in the formation of each stitch. The stitch may be and preferably is formed by the use of a zigzag type of sewing machine in `which the clutch is tightened preferably substantially tothe limit to afford the tension requiredifor folding over the fabricV edge, a specialtiming'` adjustment of the. looper being effected to prevent shearing of the tight thread' inthe looping operation.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of various possible embodiments of the several features of thisinvention,

Fig.` l isfa sideview with-parts broken away of a preferred form of sewing machine to be used in carrying out my invention,

Fig. 2 is a bottom pla-n view of a part of said machine,

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are diagrammatic views illustrating successive steps of the looping and stitching operation,

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic plan indicating the relative position of the fabrics or fabric ends and the points of descent of the needle,

Fig. 8 is a plan view on a greatly enlarged Scale illustrating the finished stitch and the process-of formation thereof,

' Fig. 9 is a plan view indicating the actual appearance of the seam and edging,

Fig. 10 is a reverse View of Fig. 9, the silk and fabric being shown under tension at the lower end to better disclose the stitch, and;

Fig. 1l is a similar view on a greatly enlarged scale through the seam of Figs. 9 and 10.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings, when tension is applied to the fabrics, as indicated by arrows,

Referringy now to the drawings, l have shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a zigzag sewing machine of conventional construction including va bed plate 1 having an overhanging arm 2, an arm standard 3 a hand wheel 4 directly connected to a needle bar actuating shaft 5 in turn connected to needle bar 6 mounted upon carrying frame 7 and carrying needle 8. The presser lbar is shown at 9 mounted in the usual manner. The lower main or looper driving shaft 10 is provided with the usual grooved pulley 11 connected by a suitable belt 12 with a corresponding pulley (not shown) on the needle driving shaft 5. The shaft 10 carries a hub 13 clamped thereto by set screw 14 and provided with a spiral gear 15 meshing with corresponding teeth 16 upon a gear at'right angles thereto upon the looper 17 which is provided with the looping hook 18. The needle thread N passes from spool 19 through the needle thread tension or clutch 20 and through take-up 21 to the needle eye. The looper thread bobbin 22 is mounted upon looper 17 and is held by the usual clamp 23 against rotation with the looper,- the thread end appearing at L. In the manner usual with zigzag stitch machines, the needle is shifted laterally back and forth to form the two rows of stitches, by means of the usual vibratory lever 24 operated by a `cam (not shown) .for the purpose designed.

To adapt the well-known machine briefly describedl above for performing my preferred stitch, the needle thread tension or clutch, 2O is preferably tightened substantially to provide thread tension far greater than usually employed. lVith the thread thus under tension and with the usual setting of machine7 the looping hook 18 in engaging the thread, is likely to shear the same, near the lower end of the needle stroke. This difficulty l have overcome by retarding the timing of the looper so that the hook 18 thereof reaches. the thread N during the upward stroke of the needle, preferably as the needle eye is about to pass beyond the range of the looper. By this means although the needle thread is taut by reason of the tightness of the clutch, the needle has passed beyond the range o f the hook before the wider portion of the latter reaches the thread, so that the shearing or cutting of the taut thread which might occur if the hook enters above the eye of the needle, is obviated. The retardation of the looper, it will be seen, is readily edected by loosening set screw 14 and appropriate-ly displacing hu'b'13 and resetting the screw.

For attaching, for instance, a piece of lace 40 to an unfinished edge of silk 41 by the use of my machine, I superpose the lace upon the fabric on the bedplate of the machine `with the edge of fabric projecting as at 27 beyond the edge of lace. The width of stitch is preferably such that one row of zigzag stitching will. go through the points 25 (see Fig. 7) to penetrate the lace and the fabric, and the other row of stitching operations will occur at 26 beyond'the projecting edge of the fabric without stitching therethrough. VViththe parts thus disposed the machine is operated in t-he normal way and the superposed fabrics fed forward, thereby forming thelinished product in one operation. Upon folding back the lace and applying an iron, the finished ornamental seam, the two sides of which are shown in Figs. 9 and 10 is formed.

The detailed mode of operation by which the result is produced will now be set forth, having particular reference to Figs. Btc 8. The needle 8 on its down stroke penetrates the lace and fabric as in Fig. 3 and on its up stroke asits eye is about to pass beyond the range of the hook 18, the latter enters into engagement withthe thread N as shown in Fig. 4. ln the continued rise of the needle and' rotation of the looper, the thread is drawn outward as shown in Fig. 5 with the looper hook free from the needle-'thus avoiding the shearing which might otherwise sever the taut thread. As the rotation progresses, the hook releases the needle thread N (Fig. 6) to loop the latter under the bobbin thread, thus interlinking said threads as at 28 to form a stitch 3() (see Fig. 8) at one of the points 25. on Fig. 7.

The needle carrying frame 7 now moves toward the right by the operation of vibra-v tory lever 24 and descends lagain as at 26 (Fig. 7 beyond the edge of the fabric. The

Airfifgit over the lace.

Y the needle now rises, since no true stitchhas been formed, the tautfneedle thread draws 'with it, the interlinked looper thread and raisesl the adjacent portion ofthe projecting edge"27 of fabric preparatory to foldln the lateral movementof return ofthe needle 8 for the next stitch, the projecting edge portion '2l' is folded over by the taut threadand irmy anchored into place by completion of the `su:ceeding stitchBl through the fabric and laceln the manner clearly understood from 8. Preferably, the needle vthread is suflicieiitly taut for the interlinked threads N andL to exert pressure against the fold of material 32, thus formed, substantially in the "manner best shown in Figs. 8 and l, thus indenting and compacting the fold lof fabric as at 33 tightly .against the lace to form substantially a rib.

The stitch thus formed, it will be seen, is particularly durable in that the projecting silk edge 27 is folded around the edge of the thicker lace very much in the manner of the familiar hand-whipped stitch, the thickness of lace confined within the fold of silk affording a core With suicient bodyvto ef fect a particularly secure seam, see particularly Figs. l() and 1l.

After the seam is completed, the lace is folded outward from the fabric and an iron is passed thereover to produce the appear`- ance shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Fig. 9 shows the side of the seam which is preferably exposed in the finished commodity, while Fig. l0 shows the reverse side, which in the case of a garment is preferably against the body. It will be noted that in external appearance, the face of this seam as indicated in Fig. 9 provides the appearance of a unitary fabric in which the lace appears to be wrought into the silk, the actual stitch extending only for a short length as at 34 transversely across the junction between the fabric and the lace, substantially as in a hand-whipped stitch, out with a uniformity of width and spacing not practically attainable by hand stitching. It will be noted that even the reverse side of the stitch, shown in Fig. l0, has a particularly finished appearance, in that the raw edge of the lace is entirely covered by the silk and the raw edge of the silk is stitched down tight by the thread as at 35.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a particularly economical means for effecting by a single, simple mechanical operation, the attachment of a lace edging to a piece of silk or other fabric, producing a seam finished at both sides and having many of the characteristic advantages of the expensive hand-whipped stitch. The stitch is again beyond the fabric distinguishable from the hand-whipped stitch by the regularity thereof and by the zigzag appearance at its reverse side.

It willbe noted that the invention is carried out without need for a special design of sewing machine nor is any special attachment required. rlf'he ordinary zigzag stitch Singer sewing machine can be conrerted into the new machine for carrying out my invention by the simple expedient of tightening the clutch and altering' the timing of the looper in the manner heretofore set forth. Thereupon the process of forming the seam consists merely in feeding the silt: with the edge projecting slightly beyond the superposed lace through the machine in the ordinary manner.

It will, of course, be understood that instead of utilizing exclusively` the tension of the thread to fold over the projecting edge of fabric, a common foot or equivalent element may be used, if desired, to perform the folding-over operation or to assist in the execution thereof. In either event, however, it is preferred to pass the needle beyond the fabric and to draw the thread foi each stitch through the lace and fabric under sufficient tension to exert pressure against the fold. Obviously, my stitch or seam as an article of manufacture could be made by methods other than those described, for instance, by previously folding the edge of fabric over the lace and then effecting the stitching operation by alternately, passing the needle first through the superposed elements and then beyond the fold. Where, however, the

`stich is made according to my preferred method in which the tension of the thread folds over the projecting edge of fabric, the thread can be relied upon to tautly embrace the old and there is no possibility of the needle penetrating at the fold, regardless how narrow the seam.

Although it is preferred to form the stitch by the specific machine set forth, it.will be understood that the method of forming the stitch can be executed independently of such machine. Considering the stitch apart from the machine, the preferred method of formation will be seen to consist broadly in interlinking a pair of threads to form a stitch through the silk and fabric, drawing'the threads outward and interlinking them with suiiicient tension to press inward thereagainst, preparatory to the succeeding stitch. Broad features of the method could obviously be carried out manually, particularly in connect# ing coarse fabrics by large stitches. The feature of employing thread tension to fold over the projecting edge of fabric could also pe applied with stitches other than that set .'ort

It will, of course, be understood that the of lace to silk or other filmsy fabric,but may be applied broadly to the formation of seams generally between any two fabrics or fabric ends, and to the binding or hemming of the uninished edge of a single piece of fabric.

lt will thus be seen that there are herein described means7 methods and apparatus in which the several features of this invention are embodied, which in their action attain the various objects of the invention and are wellsuited to meet the requirements of practical use.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a. limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to'secure by Letters Patent of the United States is The method of attaching a raw edging or strip 'of lace to the raw edge of a piece of fabric which consists in superposing said elements with the raw `edge of the fabric projecting beyond said edge of lace a distance substantially greater than the thickness of Signed at New York in the county of NewV York and State of New York this 19t-h day of June, 1922.

ROGER N. SALEEBY. 

